Early run powers Laguna Hills past Dana Hills

DANA POINT – Wrestling duals are all about matchups, and that's how the South Coast League showdown between second-ranked Laguna Hills and third-ranked Dana Hills played out Tuesday night.

In the end, the Hawks, thanks to a good run in the lower weights, were able to walk out of the gym with a 37-24 road victory.

Both teams are 2-1 in league duals.

Laguna Hills led 34-3 after the first nine matches. The final five were controlled by the Dolphins, winning four of the five, with three coming by falls.

"It went just like I thought it would go," Laguna Hills coach Cliff Jarmie said. "I knew they were going to get a run there at 170s, 80s and 95s ... those kids are really good. I knew the 220 match would be tight like that.

"It (the dual) went pretty much exactly according to plan."

Joe Applegate's 4-2 victory at 160, that gave the Hawks the 34-3 lead, was the clinching victory. If Dana Hills won the next five by pin, it would have fell one point short.

Dana Hills started its late run at 170 with Trevor Tribolet's victory by fall, Blaine Wagstaff (182) followed him and Ryan Minoofar did the same. Dalton DuCasse's victory at 220 cut the score to 34-24 heading into the final match.

"I knew it was going to be tough," Dana Hills coach Reza Abedi said. "It was all about match-ups. Some of the matches, I was disappointed that are kids were kind of hesistant. That made a difference.

"They're tough, but we just didn't wrestle ... it should have be a lot closer than that."

The dual started at 106 and the Hawks won the eight of the first nine matches, picking up bonus points at 106 and 113 (both major decision victories), 120 (technical fall) and pins at 145 and 152.

"We talked about wrestling smart, building a lead and getting some momentum," Jarmie said. "And creating a gap there, knowing that in some of those upper weights, they were going to come back and get some wins."